


Grumpy Old Men

by Kamemor



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 18:22:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8171375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamemor/pseuds/Kamemor
Summary: The Waverider ends up back in the 21st century, and Harry Wells and Martin Stein finally meet, thanks to some shenanigans on the parts of Cisco, Jesse and Jax. (Cross-posted from Tumblr.)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ramblemadlyon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ramblemadlyon/gifts).



> This was written at the request of the wonderful ramblemadlyon (hanchewie on Tumblr) quite some time ago, and I'm finally getting around to cross-posting it here.
> 
> The original post: http://philcoulsonismyhero.tumblr.com/post/148700454711/for-the-platonic-prompts-90-for-martin-stein-and

“Welcome,” said Martin, with an expansive gesture, “to the engine room.” Harry felt a grin spread unbidden across his face, and made no effort to suppress it. He was standing in the engine room of a ship that travelled not only in space, but in time. A little geeking out was totally justified. “Now, I must admit that Jefferson would do a better job of explaining the workings of the Time Drive than I no doubt will,” Martin continued. “But what’s really fascinating is the temporal theory behind how it functions.”

“Have you written any papers on it yet?” Harry asked, still staring delightedly around the room.

“As a matter of fact, I have, and I was looking for someone who would be willing to proofread them.” Martin pulled a face. “Well, read them at all, to be perfectly honest. Jefferson and Mr Palmer are fine engineers, but their understanding of complex theoretical physics is slightly lacking. And Captain Hunter can be somewhat, well, _patronising_ to those of us from earlier in the time stream. I don’t suppose you would…?”

“That’s why I asked,” said Harry, grinning. He was hard pressed to restrain himself from bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. He enjoyed working alongside Team Flash, but Martin was an intellectual equal in Harry’s own field, and he hadn’t realised how much he had been craving that. He pointed to an access panel on the main Time Drive and was about to ask if he could take a look inside, when something buzzed and interrupted him. Martin pulled a futuristic looking communications device from his pocket. 

“Yes, Captain?” he asked.

 _“Martin,”_ said an English-accented voice from the other end of the comm. _“Would you care to explain why your other half has just commandeered the jumpship for what can only be described as a joyride?”_

“…WHAT?” spluttered Martin. “Of all the irresponsible… Jefferson!” he barked into the comm device after pressing a few buttons.

 _“Yeah, Grey?”_ asked Jax’s voice, in what Harry instantly identified as the tone of someone who knew they had been caught in the act but was still playing innocent.

“Might I ask why you’ve taken the jumpship on a joyride?” asked Martin, with the tired exasperation of someone who couldn’t muster the energy to be surprised by the events.

_“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a joy ride…”_

_“Yeah,”_ said a voice that Harry instantly recognised, with mild yet unsurprised exasperation. It was Jesse. _“You shouldn’t worry, professor, we’re being careful.”_

“Are you, now?” asked Harry, raising an eyebrow even though Jesse couldn’t see him.

 _“Dad!”_  Jesse exclaimed, with exaggerated enthusiasm. Harry’s eyebrow climbed a fraction higher. _“Hey, Dad, um, don’t worry about us. Jax just got a little carried away showing us around the Waverider. We’ll have the jumpship back in no time.”_

“That ‘we’ wouldn’t happen to include Cisco, would it?”

 _“Uh, hey, Harry, Professor Stein.”_ Sure enough, it was Cisco.

“Ah, Mr Ramon,” Martin said, sounding slightly relieved. “I’m trusting you to ensure that nothing untoward happens on your short flight in the jumpship.”

 _“Grey!”_  exclaimed Jax, sounding rather offended. _“He’s never even been on a spaceship before!”_

“Yes, but Cisco is the eldest and thus should be the most responsible,” Martin said, pointedly. Harry was reasonably certain he heard Jesse’s muffled giggling over the comm, and he was inclined to agree with her. Cisco may be the eldest of the little group, but the most responsible? That was debatable.

“Don’t worry, Professor,” said Cisco’s voice, obviously pleased to have been deemed the responsible adult. “I hear you. We’ll be back in no time.”

“You’d better be,” chimed in Harry, lightly, leaving the threat unspoken. Martin, indulging his sense of the dramatic, chose that moment to end the call. He then turned and he and Harry exchanged exasperated looks which quickly turned into matching grins.

“I must admit, I’m surprised it took them this long,” said Martin, shaking his head fondly. Harry chuckled slightly.

“You and me both. Letting the three of them go off on their own was practically asking for something like this to happen. I know Jesse’s never been able to resist a spaceship. Remind me to tell you some time about the time she turned our sitting room into a replica of the original Enterprise bridge.” Martin smiled.

“You’re a lucky man.”

“Thank you. Jax is a great kid as well. The partnership you two have…” Harry trailed off, and Martin chuckled, somewhat self deprecatingly.

“Oh, believe me, that took work. Compromise from both sides, and a great deal of me learning to swallow my pride. But we got there in the end. And you will too.” Harry looked at him, puzzled.

“How…?”

“Cisco likes to talk,” Martin explained. Harry rolled his eyes. Of course it was Cisco. “He’s told me more than a little about the rough patches you and Jesse have experienced.”

“Has he now?”

“Yes. He cares a lot about you, you know. Both of you. He saw how much better my relationship with Jefferson has become over time and came to me seeking advice.” Harry… had no idea how to respond to that. He had never had the best experiences with other people interfering in his relationship with Jesse, but was surprised to realise that he was touched by Cisco’s concern.

“And what advice did you give him?” he eventually managed to ask.

“That time and communication solves all,” Martin said gently. “And finding the balance between acknowledging that they are both a child in your eyes and an adult in theirs.” Harry broke eye contact and looked down at his hands. Martin didn’t push for a response, instead walking over to the access panel that Harry had spotted earlier. “Now, what say you and I let our assorted young people worry about themselves for a while? I’d be fascinated to hear your perspective on these time remnants Cisco has told me so much about. I’m still trying to work them into my unified theory of time travel, but it appears the Speed Force element is making things awkward.”

“It does that,” said Harry, grateful for the change of subject. He was still somewhat new to this ‘openly talking about one’s relationships’ business, and found it rather awkward. As Martin removed the access panel, he started mentally reviewing his own time travel theories. “But before we get to that I want to have a look at this Time Drive I’ve heard so much about…”

* * *

A little over three hours later, Jesse, Jax and Cisco returned from their joyride in the jumpship to find Harry and Martin engaged in cheerful, animated bickering, practically buried up to their waists in the inner workings of the Waverider. Giggling quietly to themselves, they left them to it. It appeared that their cunning plan of leaving their favourite grumpy old men alone together had gone just as well as they’d hoped. Not only did they now have a foolproof way of distracting the two of them (put them in a room with science stuff and leave them to it), but Harry and Martin seemed well on their way to developing a friendship they might never have gotten around to if left to their own devices. And Jesse, Jax and Cisco all considered that a win-win. 

 


End file.
